Friday, January 27, 2012

I must admit that I don't watch very much football. I grew up in a 49er household, and that's pretty much the only football I'll watch, and even then I kind of daze in and out unless it's a rather exciting game. I did watch last week's game, and followed along until the bitter end.

when we lost.

That said, I'm a sucker for parties, and for hearty comfort food. We aren't hosting a super bowl party this year because 1) it snuck up on me, and 2) I'm not even sure exactly who is playing. Those East Coast teams all look/sound the same to me.

(~~ ducking~~)

BUT! You should TOTALLY have a party. And make these sandwiches. Because they rock.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the meat into your cooker (frozen is okay). Top with sliced onion, and all the dried herbs and spices. It will seem like there are way too many herbs—try not to worry. Add the entire can of tomatoes and bottle of beer. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat shreds easily with two large forks. Shred the meat completely, and stir well.

Serve on toasted rolls with melted mozzarella cheese.

The french bread shown here is gluten free--it's from the Against The Grain Gourmet, and comes frozen. I can only find it at one of our fancyish family-owned grocery stores, but there are distribution phone numbers on their website.

All I did was thaw the bread, slice it down the middle, then bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the bread felt toasty, and the cheese was melty, I took it out.

The Verdict.

Having a party? This is a fantastic pot-luck meal, or game day feast. The resulting meat is fall-apart tender and nicely seasoned. The cayenne provides a bit of a kick, but not enough to bother sensitive palates. If you’d like more heat, sliced pickled jalapeño peppers works great as an additional sandwich topping. I sent the leftover meat home with my friend Sharyl, and she reported back that her three kids LOVED their sandwiches the next day.

When I make italian beef, I'm chained to the kitchen, popping 5-6 buns with beef into the oven for toasting/cheese melting. By the time I get the second batch out, people are coming back for seconds and there's NO ESCAPE. I LOVE the idea of using whole loaves, slathering them with beef and cheese and calling it a day! Brilliant! Feed an army in one fell swoop and cast off the chains! Thanks for the idea.

Hi Becca, you can use 2 1/2 cups of beef broth instead. But the alcohol does turn to vapor and leave the pot through steam-- no worries about that unless you're cooking something for not very long-- like the redwine poached pears. There will be very minute trace amounts of the beer/alcohol left, but no more than you'd find with an extract or something.

Stephanie, I've been following your blog for a couple of years, but don't recall where you are (if I knew). For gluten-free foods (and other foods), if you're west of the Mississippi, or even some places just east of it, you ought to see if Azure Standard ( http://www.azurestandard.com ) has a drop point near you--calling and asking is probably the best way to check. Azure is a co-op with pick-ups once a month. Think Whole Foods only better and much less pricey!

Steph I was cheering on the 49ers. I really was hoping for the brothers to coach against each other in the Super Bowl. Now I'm hoping the Pats beat the Giants this time since they messed up my vacation the last time they played. Love the sandwiches for the game. Anything I can pick up and eat with my hands is on my list. Half of what I'm serving ends up on a stick. These sandwiches of yours however won't last past the first quarter!

Just made this for dinner tonight. It was great. I added a bit of balsamic vinaigrette dressing - maybe a little less than half a cup - just for some extra zip. Husband loved it. Thanks for all of the great recipes. Keep up the good work!

Making this today! yum It smells soooo great! We had to search several stores yesterday(even the ones listed on the website) for the rolls, but did finally spy them at WholeFoods.- They are in a different freezer away from the other GF Breads.. Why? I don't know.

Great recipe Stephanie! Made this yesterday - minus the anise - and it was FANTASTIC! It was so delicious. The meat was perfectly flavored, moist, and once put on a hoagie roll and toasted - OUT OF THIS WORLD! Thank you so much for sharing.

This is on my list to try sometime! Today I opted for your peperoncini recipe - I had most of a 12 oz jar leftover and bought a 3 lb round roast last night and cut in half since it called for 2 lbs and a 16 oz jar of peperoncinis. I also cut a sweet 1015 onion(delish!) I did find that round is a LOT tougher - it cut and chewed fine but was not shredding with 2 forks tender. I added some beef broth - will see how it does at a 2nd eating(the first was awesome though I did taste the onion more than the peppers - I'm guessing the juice with teh peppers helped tenderize and added some flavor? wasn't too spicy and I could taste the peppers - next time I'll get a bigger jar of peppers and try the broth. I was going ot do this recipe but couldn't find a single can of beer(I don't drink)at the grocery store adn didn't feel safe at the nasty convenience store across the street so this recipe will be up later!

made this with no beer or broth... and used pepperoncinis. Was to die for. We ate leftover beef for at least two meals. I saved the leftover juices and pepperoncini veg and used it in the slow-cooker to cook boneless chicken breasts. Very happy combo and made for 4 meals.